It’s a simple goal, and they’re not entirely difficult for a professional athlete to pull off. But if you miss an assignment in Cincinnati Bengals running backs room, you’re doing them. They might be Instagrammed for posterity with the cheerful jeers of your teammates filling the background. You might do them on the practice field in front of everyone.

He had to do a set, once. He missed a check down – but was quick to point out the coaches threw something different at him to trip him up. Throughout camp, the Bengals coaching staff has praised the rookie running back for his consumption of the offense and ability to not only digest it but then execute it in practice.

And there’s no greater oven to try and perform in than in the red zone, on third down, with a veteran quarterback like Andy Dalton calling out his protection from the shotgun. The Bengals offensive coaches put Mixon in specifically in that moment to test him, as Jeremy Hill (26 rush yards) had played the previous five plays on the drive.

Mixon was off Dalton’s right hip and had to slide across the line to fill a gap caused by left tackle Cedric Ogbuehi and left guard Clint Boling’s blocks. A Buccaneers defensive back would have a clear shot at Dalton if the rookie running back couldn’t put it all together in a split second.

He did. The ball got off in time. Dalton was clean.

“We’ve got a $100 million quarterback,” Mixon said. “So I’ve got to protect him at all costs.”

No burpees.

“He knows what he’s doing,” Dalton said. “For me back there, it’s communicating and helping him out as much as I can. If I know somebody’s coming I can say, hey, this dude’s coming so he can block his man. When he knows who he’s going to, he can block people. He’s big and strong. I thought it was great. He knew exactly where his guy was and he went over and picked him up.”

But Dalton wasn’t going to minimize the play. While the end result was an interception – Dalton acknowledged Vernon Hargreaves III made a play and he should have routed Brandon LaFell to a different spot – none of it matters if one link in the protection chain is snapped by a missed blitz pickup.

“No, for sure it’s big,” Dalton said.

The highlights won’t show it, though.

Mixon’s runs will, like AJ McCarron’s swing pass to him in the flat where he turned upfield, broke an arm tackle from Bucs safety Justin Evans, juked linebacker Cameron Lynch and ran through linebacker Kendell Beckwith. Or the 13-yard run behind blocks by Ogbuehi and training camp roommate Trey Hopkins.

He validated what has been seen in camp, though, and finished with 31 rushing yards on six carries (5.2) and had the lone reception for 11 more yards.

But in the running backs room? Eh. The "little thing" will be what's noticed.

“Everyone in the room is talented,” fellow running back Tra Carson (55 total yards) said. “Everyone can make runs and big plays, but can you make the right protection? Can you pick up the panic, pick up the blitz?” “That’s more important than making runs. You’ve got to protect the quarterback first.

“For him to pick up the blitz, and do all the little things. That’s going to be big for him since he’s young. He’ll probably get more praise for picking up the block.”